Prompt: Describe your personal philosophy about how and when you have taken, or would take, antibiotics. What experiences or prior knowledge do you have that shaped that personal philosophy?
If a doctor prescribed me antibiotics to treat a certain bacterial infection I would trust the doctor and take the full antibiotic prescription he gave me. My personal philosophy for antibiotics is that they do serve their purpose to treat serious, life-threatening conditions and aid the body’s extreme response to an infection. However, after going over both journals for week five I have decided not to uphold antibiotics to the high standards that I did before. From the review article by George Stavrou and Katerina Kotzampassi titled “Gut microbiome, surgical complications and probiotics” I found it interesting that they believe antibiotic administration has long been known to have detrimental effects on the ecology of commensal bacteria. Studies have even shown that norepinephrine was found to increase the proliferation of Streptococcuspneumonia while also enhancing the formation of biofilms which increases antibiotic resistance. I have never had to take antibiotics but I also know to be careful if I ever have to take them for whatever reason; personally I think antibiotics are marketed as pills that everyone is bound to take some time in their life and hold very little after effects. After reading this weeks journals I believe doctors should be more careful when prescribing antibiotics and as patients we should do our research and take antibiotics carefully and as intended to.
Citation:
Stavrou, G., & Kotzampassi, K. (2017). Gut microbiome, surgical complications and probiotics. Gut Microbiome, Surgical Complications and Probiotics , 30–45-53. https://doi.org/10.20524/aog.2016.0086
